Circle One
by TactlessChessur
Summary: When Bella starts her first year, she meets Edward Masen, a boy with a strange approach of asking things. One-Shot, All Human.


**Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight**

**Circle One**

**Eleven year old Bella starts her first year of secondary school. **

Shy and frightened, Bella walks quickly through the confusing maze of halls, keeping her head firmly down to hide her face from the world. A group of snickering fourth year girls push past her, tripping her up. As she falls, her books go flying around her, scattering themselves. All but one person laugh at her as she climbs unsteadily back to her feet, the beginnings of tears forming at the back of her eyes. The boy with messy copper hair steps forward and picks up her books, handing them to her. She takes them cautiously, looking up to thank him. But he is already gone, hurrying down the hall. She is confused, and hesitates before she turns away to walk to her next class.

After four endless hours of teasing from almost every member of her year, Bella slowly packs up her books to walk to Biology. She doesn't understand it - every one of them is as new as she is. This is the first year for everybody, so why is she the one they pick on? But Bella understands, in a way. It is because she is the shy one, the weak one. She walks around with her mahogany hair hiding her face, eager not to be noticed - she is the easy target.

Eventually, she arrives at the Biology classroom. There, she spots the one boy who has spoken no word to her, sitting at the only bench with an empty seat beside it. Slowly, hesitantly, she walks towards the head of fiery locks. As she pulls back the stool to sit, his head flicks up from where he had been staring at the wood of the bench. She looks into sparkling green eyes, and he smiles a weak crooked grin.

"Thank you." She murmur's shyly. He looks confused for a second before realisation dawns across his face and his grin becomes real for a short second. Then, the ever dominant timidity takes over again. His eyes lock back onto the bench.

"You're welcome" He replies in a whisper. His hands, resting on the wood, are trembling. Bella immediately understands - he is as shy as she is, if not worse. She wants to make him feel better. In a flash of boldness, she reaches out to put her hand on his, calming. They both flinch as the electricity pounds through their veins, but Bella does not remove her hand. He looks back up at her.

"I'm Bella." She greets.

"E-Edward." He stutters. As the teacher walks in, Bella takes her hand away, but not before Edward quickly turns his over to squeeze it comfortingly. They are two of the same.

In the middle of the class, Bella notices Edward suddenly flip to the back of his note book, tearing out a piece of paper before scribbling something on it in messy, hurried writing. He warily pushes it in Bella's direction, and she picks it up to read.

_Would you like to be my friend?_

_Circle one:_

_**No**_

_**No, I never want to talk to you again**_

_**Yes**_

As she reads, a bright smile spreads across her face. A smile so bright it erased the earlier bad events of the day. Confidently, she takes Edwards hand again under the table after shoving the note back in his direction. Soon, he is sharing her smile. They grin widely at each other, and Bella's heart flutters.

_She made a friend._

* * *

**Thirteen year old Bella experiences her first crush.**

More confident than before, Bella strides into the lunch hall. Her hair is tied up in a tidy ponytail, exposing her face. She is glowing. Grabbing her food, she almost skips to the table where she sits alone with Edward. Her heart flutters, as has become a regular routine every time she lays eyes on her best friend. His copper hair is still as messy as ever, looking as if he has just woken up. Bella loves it.

They talk for the entire lunch hour about random, pointless things, just enjoying the sound of the others voice. No longer are they timid around each other - they are each others rocks. However, this hasn't changed the way they are around others. It is rare to see one without the other - they prefer to stay close, to avoid the other being cornered by those who still take advantage of their weakness.

They are so animated in conversation, they don't notice the group of boys approaching their table. Their heads flick up at the sudden jeers spurting from their mouths.

"Well if it isn't Mr and Mrs Freak." Mike sneers. "Enjoying your date, loners?" The couple just glare at him, choosing not to respond. The boys laugh as Mike continues. "What, Edward, not man enough to defend your girl? Are you _that_ weak you won't even stand up for her?" They remain silent. Mike shakes his head, as if scolding them, but the smirk is still plastered on his face.

"It must be something to do with being adopted - how does it feel to know your parents _don't love you_, Eddie boy?" Edward flinches at the low blow, and Bella can't stop herself before she is out of her seat and throwing a punch at Mike's jaw. She knows he knows that Edward's parents had died in a house fire when he was seven, while he had been rescued in time to watch the building burn to the ground. She won't let Mike twist the story like he did.

As her fist connects with Mike's face, throwing him backward, the other boys scatter, deserting their leader quicker than field mice fleeing a hungry owl. He lands on his back, yelping in pain while Bella just glares down at him. Holding his jaw in one hand, he scrambles up onto his feet to follow his gang out of the door, yelling something about a psycho.

Bella turns around to see Edward looking up at her with eyes sparkling with awe and gratitude. She smiles at him, holding out her hand. He makes no hesitation before taking it, following her to Biology. They sit at the same bench they did two years ago, and as the same teacher walks in, Edward gazes at Bella with clouded eyes, memorising once more every detail he has grown to love about his best friend.

Her beautiful brown hair with hints of red that show in the sun that always smells like strawberries. Her lovely pale skin that had recently began to glow whenever he saw her, that exaggerated the alluring blush that permanently tinted pink. And her amazing chocolate eyes that unfailingly melt his insides every time he looks into them. He has loved her for a long time, but was scared asking her to be his girlfriend would ruin their friendship. Yet at this moment, he can't bring himself to care - he desperately needs her to belong to him.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Bella catches Edward ripping a page from the back of his notebook and gracefully writing in the elegant script he has developed. A smirk crosses Bella's face as she is reminded of her first day two years ago, taking the note he has passes her.

_Will you be my girlfriend?_

_Circle one:_

_**No**_

_**No, I never want to talk to you again**_

_**Yes**_

Bella pays no mind to the fact she is in the middle of class when, after watching a smile light up Edwards face as he reads her answer, she pulls him towards her to press her lips against his own. A throat is cleared from the front of the room and alerts them that the teacher has seen them. As they pull apart, Edward's favourite blush coats her cheeks as stars dance before his eyes. Bella smiles at him, and feels the familiar flutter of her heart.

_She loved her boyfriend._

* * *

**Fifteen year old Bella goes to her first dance.**

Bella and Edward have been happily together for two years, and their confidence continues to grow. Since Bella's unusual display of spunk against Mike, no one has dared confront her. And as she never leaves Edward's side, the same applies to him. They are finally freed of fear of their peers, and have made new friends. Alice, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie joined the school earlier that year, and as they were immediately labelled as unsocial freaks like themselves, Bella and Edward felt an immediate connection - they hit it off instantly.

Bella feels miserable as she walks into the lunch hall with Alice and Edward - she has just spotted a poster for the Spring dance. She has never been to a dance before, and has always wanted a reason to wear a beautiful flowing dress. There is only one problem - Edward hasn't asked her. The dance is three days away, and Bella _will not go_ without Edward, despite Alice's protests.

Edward has known there is something wrong with Bella, and also knows from Alice's complaints that it is to do with the dance. Edward has been working up the courage to ask Bella to the dance, but still finds himself nervous of rejection. Eventually, in Biology, at the same bench as always, he resorts to his familiar tactic.

Bella is unsurprised to receive a slip of paper from Edward, but doesn't move to read it. She is in a bad mood, and wants to be left alone to mope. She looks at him as he nudges her with his able, and sees worry in his eyes. She keeps eye contact for a second before heaving a sigh and taking the note.

_Will you go to the dance with me?_

_Circle one:_

_**No**_

_**No, I never want to talk to you again**_

_**Yes**_

Bella squealed very loudly, attracting the attention of every student and teacher in the room, before throwing her arms around Edward's neck. He chuckles and holds her close, burying his nose in her mahogany hair. The teacher just shakes his head and returns his attention to the board. He is so used to this regular occurrence he has stopped trying to do anything about it.

Bella is so excited, bouncing in her seat when she pulls away. Now she just needs to see Alice - she knows she already has a dress for her. Sure enough, when Bella skips into the car park at the end of school, dragging a grinning Edward behind her, Alice finds it easy to pinpoint the sudden change in her mood.

"I have the perfect dress for you Bella - you'll love it!"

And so Bella experienced her first encounter with an elegant ball gown: dark blue silk that flowed endlessly to her ankles. She experienced her first encounter with the wild tornado that is Alice Cullen the make up artist, and she experienced her first encounter with a pair of deadly heels.

After tripping around Alice's bedroom for an hour before the dance, Bella begs Alice to let her wear a pair of different shoes before she breaks her ankle. Having watched the disaster that she was fly around her room, Alice reluctantly agrees, instead putting her in a sensible pair of dainty ballet flats.

As Bella walks down the stairs to her Edward, she freezes, distracted by the beautiful image that is her boyfriend. He is dressed in a smart black tuxedo that contrasts widely with his pale skin, and Bella is captivated. Looking up, she sees Edward is having the same reaction to her, and bursts out laughing. Jogged out of his daze, Edward joins in her laughter, and Bella flies down the stairs towards him, landing safely in his arms. He holds her close and places a gently kiss on her curled hair before walking her out of the door.

At the dance, Bella finds flat shoes have not much helped her situation of clumsiness - she has completely forgotten that she _can't dance._ Edward laughs at her reluctance to dance again after the first attempt, but insists she try again.

"But I'll fall!" She complains.

"I'll always catch you." He promises sincerely. And that was all it takes to convince her. She spends the rest of the evening laughing and enjoying herself as Edward helps her fly around, lifting her onto his feet. As she gazes into the emerald eyes that sparkled with endless love and pride towards the her, her heart repeated its trademark flutter. She never wanted the evening to end.

_She learned to dance_

* * *

**Eighteen year old Bella commits.**

Bella is extremely excited - graduation is looming. In three more hours her secondary school/college will finally be over and she will be heading to university. After seven years of the same boring teachers, same annoying classmates, she will finally be leaving - and all her best friends would be going with her.

Bella thinks it is more than luck that they have all been accepted into the same university - they all want to study similar subjects, and the same university holds everything they all need. They will be boarding, too, and to top it all off Bella is getting a room with Alice. Bella and Edward are still unwaveringly happy together, as every person can see. They gravitate around each other, and it would be obvious to even the strangest of strangers that one can not leave without the other. They are closer than ever, and life just couldn't get any better.

After graduation, the six friends (Bella, Edward, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett) have a restaurant booked. Everyone but Bella knows the big surprise Edward has planned for her, but Bella is completely oblivious. Alice has dressed her in a beautiful floor length green silk dress that will be hidden under her graduation robes, and her hair is curled into gentle waves that wrap around her face. Her make up is subtle, exaggerating her perfections rather than hiding her flaws, and even Bella can't deny that she is beautiful.

Taking her seat in the stands between Alice and Edward, Bella waits in anticipation for her diploma. As each of her friends' names are called, Bella applauds so hard her hands burn raw, but she does not stop. Her pain is repayed as she goes up herself, watching her row of friends leap up and scream for her, making her blush as she laughs. She runs back to her seat, greeted by Edward as he stands and picks her up, swinging her around before letting her sit back down. Their hands are clenched tightly as they grin wildly, waiting for the moment when they can throw their caps into the air.

At the restaurant, the six best friends are non-stop laughing. They can't believe it is finally over.

And then it is time for Edward's surprise.

He makes no move to kneel, uses no cheesy move like having a ring in her glass, only a simple piece of paper and a pen. The table silences as he takes his time writing it out, making it in the most elegant script he can manage. He uses the same approach he has for the last seven years, an approach he knows she will appreciate more than any other. He hands Bella the slip of paper and a frown of innocent confusion forms on her face as she takes it. As she reads the paper, the frown morphs into the widest smile anyone has ever seen her wear.

_Will you marry me?_

_Circle one:_

_**No**_

_**No, I never want to talk to you again**_

_**Yes**_

Bella takes the pen circles her option, adding her own comment for the first time ever.

_When have I ever said no?_

Cheers erupt at the table as Edward reads her answer aloud, but they quiet again immediately as Edward pulls out a black velvet box with exaggerated slowness, opening it to slip a dainty diamond ring on her finger. Happy tears slide down Bella's face as he kisses the ring on her hand, and the cheers start again, louder this time, as he kisses her passionately, lovingly and sensually all at once. Bella feels the familiar flutter of her heart she associates with Edward.

_She gets her happily ever after._

* * *

Yes! I know I should be concentrating on that story I promised, but I just got this idea when I was thinking about my boyfriend and I couldn't stop myself!

This is the last one! I promise!


End file.
